Razor



May 9, 1939. c. LIVINGSTON 2,157,492

' RAZOR Filed April 8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 21 .33 J9 J7 [2 '30" J9 33Z5 Z6 36 I W3 fZUZ6Z 017 2 7 QZZa-ZJZiUL' S Zora 2g1 1 1 22 M. M. W,hauim Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAZOR ApplicationApril 8, 1935, Serial No. 15,200

17 Claims.

This invention relates to razors, and has more particular reference tosafety razors.

The invention includes among its objects, the provision of a razor witha reciprocable cutter or blade which is capable of actuation in onedirection by the cutting resistance encountered in the use of the razor.That actuation energizes an operative member which opposes or resiststhe movements of the cutter or blade caused by the In: cuttingresistanceand tends to, and may, drive the cutter in the opposite direction. Thecutter or blade may thus be reciprocated in the line of the shavingstroke or at an angle thereto, whereby to minimize the likelihood of ashaver cutting himself; whereby to render shaving more comfortable thanit ordinarily is; whereby to provide more uniform results over a surfacebeing shaved; whereby, in the case of the cutter reciprocations being atan angle to the line of stroke, to facilitate the cutting by effecting akind of drawing movement in addition to the usual stroke of the cutter;and whereby, in general, to improve cutting action of the cutter.

Other objects of the invention include the combinations and arrangementsof parts hereinafter disclosed in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference characters designate similar partsthroughout the following views.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a safety-razor embodying some of thefeatures of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the razor shown in Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the blade cover 35 with a blade in placethereon as employed in the razor of the preceding figures;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along thelines 3-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially along thelines 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section taken along the lines 66 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken substantially along the lines 1-! ofFig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a blade driver suitable for use in therazor of Fig. 1;

Fig, 9 is a perspective view of another safety razor embodying some ofthe features of the invention;

Fig, 10 is a fragmentary elevation partially in cross-section of therazor shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a top view of the razor of Fig. 9 with parts broken away tobring out certain details of construction and assembly;

Fig. 12 is a cross-section taken substantially along the lines l2|2 ofFig. 9;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary front elevation of the razor shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary cross-section taken 5 substantially along thelines l4l4 of Fig. 11; and

Fig. 15 is a cross-section similar to that of Fig, 14, but takensubstantially along the lines l5l5 of Fig. 11.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, a safety razor is provided ofthe type wherein a suitable blade carrier or holder 2| and a handle 22are separably attachable together by an externally threaded lug 23projecting from a carrier member or blade cover 25 through an aperture25 in another carrier member or a blade seat 26 and threadablyreceivable in an internally threaded recess 27 in an end of the handle22.

The carrier 21 is adapted to accommodate a cutter illustrated as atwo-edged blade 28. The blade seat 26 is therefore provided with guardedges or teeth 29 at its opposite sides. The blade is positionablebetween the blade cover 24 and the blade seat 26 before the carrier issecured to 25 the handle in the manner just described, and has anaperture 3| through which the lug 23 may pass.

A general object of the invention is to provide a novel and an improvedrazor wherein a cutter is reciprocable by the cutting resistance and anoperative member or driver, the latter being energized as a result ofmovements of the cutter caused by the cutting resistance.

To that end the lug 23 is made of smaller diameter than the diameter ofthe aperture 3|. The blade is provided with an aperture 32 at each sideof the aperture 3| to accommodate correspondingly positioned lugs 33projecting from the blade cover 24, and adapted to extend through theblade apertures 32 and through apertures 34 in the blade seat, when theblade is assembled in the carrier for attachment to the handle.

Each lug 33 has an enlarged portion 33' at the portion thereof extendingthrough the blade aperture 32 for spacing the blade seat and. coverapart such a distance as to permit sliding of the blade therebetween,and the enlarged portions 33 are smaller than the apertures 32. Thus theblade 28 may be movably assembled in the carrier. When the razor isdrawn over the surface being shaved, the cutting resistance encounteredthereby will act as a force substantially opposite to the direction ofstroke and will tend to move the blade in the carriage either in adirection opposite to that of the stroke or, when the cutting resistanceis unequal at opposite ends of the blade, at an angle to the directionof stroke. That movement is limited by the peripheries of the apertures3| and 32 engaging the lug 23 and the enlarged portions 33 of the lugs33, respectively, at the sides thereof nearer the blade edge being used.

The juxtaposed surfaces of the blade cover 24 and the blade seat 26 areprovided with recesses 35 and 36, respectively, in the regions includingthe lugs 23 and 33 and the apertures 25 and 34, respectively, whereby toprovide a chamber for accommodating therein a blade driver, for example,a spring or resilient member 31. That spring 31 has a rectilinearcentral portion 38 joining abutment portions 39. The spring is securedin the spring chamber between the blade cover and the blade seat byinserting the central portion 38 in a transverse slot 41 in theunthreaded end of the lug 23 before the lug is secured as at 42 to theblade cover 24. The arrangement is such that the abutment portions 39will engage in blade apertures 43 at opposite sides of the aperture 3|when the blade is assembled in the carrier.

In such a razor, the blade driver 3'! resiliently and yieldingly resiststhe movement of the blade 28 in the opposite direction from thedirection of the stroke, and tends to urge the blade forwardly when itis so displaced by the cutting resistance.

The invention is not limited to a particular type of safety razor,whether it be of the type wherein more than one edge of a blade isexposed for use or of the type wherein only a single blade edge isexposed for use. That fact will be seen by reference to the drawingswherein as described above Figs. 1 to 8 disclose a razor exemplifyingthe first mentioned type, and Figs. 9 to 15 disclose a razorexemplifying the second mentioned type.

The razor illustrated in Figs. 9 to 15 has a handle member 44, a bladeseat member 45, and a blade cover member 46 suitably formed, for exampleby stamping, as an integral unit with a web portion 41 joining thehandle member and the blade seat member and having a central depressionor recess 48 provided with an aperture 49. The edges at the sides of theaperture are provided with notches or slots for a purpose appearing morefully hereinafter.

The seat member 45 and the cover member 46 are joined or connected byblade stops 52 made by severing the material along lines. 53, 54, and55, forming a guard edge or guard teeth 56 between the lines 54 and 55at the side of the seat member opposite the web portion 41, and foldingas at 5'! the cover member 46 back to a position spaced from andoverlying the seat member 45 to provide a blade receiving space 58between the cover and seat members. In order to avoid fatigue andcrystallization of the metal at the fold 51, the space 58 is madegreater than the thickness of a usual blade, and a pair of seating orspacer lugs 59 and 6| are formed at each end of the seat member 45.Those lugs 59 and 6| are folded back upon the seat member to provide ablade support in the space 58 properly spaced from the cover member 46.

The spacing thus provided between the cover member 46 and the lugs 59and 6! is such that a blade 62 may be inserted between the cover memberand the seating lugs 59 and 6! and may be moved forwardly until itengages the stops 52. In that position the shaving edge of the bladebetween the stops 52 is exposed and is positioned adjacent the guardedge or teeth 56, which, as shown more particularly in Fig. 10, arecurved upwardly as at 63 from the seat member 45 and then slightlydownwardly as at 64 whereby to locate them adjacent that position of theblade edge.

The blade carrier thus provided has a pair of guiding lugs 65 and 66depending from each end of the cover member in staggered relationship tothe lugs 59 and 6|, respectively, and serving to limit endwisedisplacement of the blade. For the purpose of facilitating the removalof the blade 62 from the blade carrier, the cover member 46 is made oflesser width than the blade whereby portions of the blade will beexposed as at 67 when the blade is in the carrier and may be employedfor withdrawing it from the carrier. Where desired, a tab 68 may beformed at the free side of the cover member to be used as a handle inurging the cover member away from the seat member about the line of fold51 for further facilitating the removal of the blade, the stops 52 beingsuificiently resilient and yieldable to permit such separation of thecover and seat members for that purpose.

The blade 62 is thus slidably receivable in the blade carrier, and thenovel safety razor illus trated in Figs. 9-15 will permit the blade tomove away from the stops 52 under the force of cutting resistanceencountered in shaving. Instead of providing a rigid member or mechanismfor positively preventing such movement of the blade, a resilient memberor holder 69, preferably in the form of a spring having spaced coils ll, a U-shaped handle member 12 connecting adjacent ends of the coils,and blade engaging members 13 at opposite ends of the coils, is providedfor resiliently or yieldably opposing movement of the blade 62 in theblade carrier away from the stops 52.

In order to assemble the spring or holder 69 in the razor, the U-shapedhandle member 12 is inserted in the aperture 49 so that the legs of theU-shaped handle may engage in opposed slots 5| at opposite sides of theaperture. The U-shaped handle member is thus threaded or pulled throughthe aperture until the coils H pass through an aperture 14 provided atthe rear margin of the seat member 45. When the spring or holder 69 isin that position a pintle or pin 15 is passed through an aperture in alug 16 depending from one side of the seat member 45 through theconvolutions of the coils H, and through an aperture in a lug 11depending from the other side of the seat member 45. The ends of the pin75 are then upset or otherwise secured in the apertures to prevent axialdisplacement of the pin.

The spring or holder 69 is thus so mounted in the razor that the bladeengaging members 13 extend upwardly through the aperture 14 to a bladeengaging position, and are adapted to urge the blade forwardly againstthe stops 52 with forces which may be adjusted in accordance with thedesired shaving requirements by adjusting the U-shaped handle member 12to one or the other pairs of slots 5! at opposite sides of the aperture49. The reciprocable blade may be inserted in the blade carrier bysliding it forwardly at a slight angle until the rear edge of the bladeclears the blade engaging members 13, and then they urge the blade intoits position for shaving. Itmay be removed from the blade carrier bygrasping the exposedportions 61 and first moving-them in a directionaway from the seat member 45 until the blade clears the engaging members13, and then withdrawing the blade. The stops 52 yield sufficiently topermit the insertion and withdrawal of the blade at the angle sufficientto clear the engaging members 13. c

In shaving with the safety razor of the invention, the cuttingresistance is transmitted as a force by the blade tothe resilient memberor spring which is adapted (Figs. '1 to 8), or which may be adjusted(Figs. 9 to 15) to yield or to give in response and in proportion to thecutting resistance or the force produced thereby. Such yielding of theresilient member or spring permits the blade to be moved by that forceof cutting resistance in a direction opposite or at an angle to thedirection of the normal or usual shaving movement or stroke ofthe'blada'or in a direction inwardly of the blade carrier, and away fromthe line of cutting or shaving.

That movement of the bladeis important because it tends to enhance thesafety feature of the razor, whereby the shaver is not so likely to cuthimself as he would be if the blade were held rigidly in its outerposition, and because, being proportional to the cutting resistance, ittends to adjust the blade to such a position with respect to the anglebetween the'blade and the surface being shaved, that comfortable shavingmay be secured.

It is important to note that the force of cutting resistance acting tomove the blade as described above, also serves to energize the bladedriver or spring. The energy'thus imparted to the blade driver producesforces which oppose the forces of cutting resistance and the movementsof the blade caused thereby. Thus, the novel razor tends to equalize theeffective cutting forces whereby to produce more uniform results overanentire surface being shaved.

From the foregoing, it will be seenthat the blade driver when energizedtends to urge the blade in a forward direction outwardly of the bladecarrier. When ing at a given instant against the blade edge becomes lessthan the force-produced bythe energized blade driver, the blade will bedriven forwardly substantially in the same direction as that of theusual shaving stroke of the blade. Thus, in the use of the razor, theblade may be reciprocated to produce relatively short shaving strokeswhile the razor is being moved over the surface being shaved, whereby toshave the surface effectively.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, manymodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details ofconstruction set forth, but desire to availmyself of all changes withinthe scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the Uhited States, is:

1. A safety razor comprising a blade seat, a'

blade cover, a blade slidable ther-ebetween in response to the force ofcutting resistance in the direction opposite the direction of cuttingmovement of the blade, and a blade driver mounted between said bladeseat and said blade cover and energizable by the sliding of the blade inthe first said direction for driving the blade in the oppositedirection.

the cutting resistance act-' 2. A razor having a carrier, a blademovable therein in response to cutting forces in a direction oppositethe direction of the stroke, means for moving said blade in said carrierin the direction of the stroke, and adjustment means for adjusting thelast said means to adjust blades resistance to movement.

3. A safety razor comprising a blade, a blade holder including a pair ofspaced parallel plate members, the inner of which constitutes a bladeseat, the outer of which constitutes a blade cover, and spacedconnecting members at opposite ends of said plate members integrallyjoining said members and constituting blade stops for blade movements inone direction, said outer plate memher being relieved along the edgebetween'said blade stops to expose the cutting edge of a blade in saidholder and said inner plate member having a plurality of guard teeth atits marginal portion between said blade stops to provide a guard edge,said blade being slidable in said blade holder between said spaced platemembers, a handle formed integrally with said inner plate member of saidblade holder at the side thereof opposite said blade stops, and a springbetween said handle and said inner plate member having a blade engagingportion and an adjustable por tion for varying the force exerted by saidblade engaging portion on said blade, said spring being yieldable inresponse to the force of cutting resistance whereby the cutting edge ofsaid blade is exposed between said blade stops in inverse proportion tothe force of cutting resistance.

4. A safety razor comprising a handle, a blade seat, a blade coverincluding means for slidably securing a cutter blade between said bladeseat and said blade cover, and a resilient means carried by saidsecuring means and operatively engaging with said cutter blade forpermitting the movement of the cutter blade in a direction opposite tothat of the shaving movement of the blade in response to the force ofcutting resistance.

5. A safety razor comprising a blade seat, a blade cover, a bladetherebetween capable of movement co-planar with the blade and at anangle to the direction of shaving movement of the blade determined by aresultant of the forces of cutting resistance, and a blade driverenergizable by the blade movement in response to the force of cuttingresistance for urging the blade in the opposite direction.

6. A safety razor comprising a blade carrier, a blade therein, saidblade being movable in said carrier about an axis substantially normalto the face of the blade, and resilient means engaging said blade andyieldable in response to the force of cutting resistance for yieldablyopposing pivotal movement about said axis in response to the force ofcutting resistance.

'7. A safety razor comprising a blade, a seat and a cover thereforproviding a blade carrier having blade guiding mechanism therein, saidblade being movable in said blade carrier away from the line of cuttingby the force of cutting resistance and in a direction determined by aresultant of the forces of cutting resistance, and a resilient membersupported between said seat and cover and engaging said blade foryieldably opposing the movement of the blade away from the line ofcutting.

8. In a safety razor, a blade capable of movement responsive to cuttingresistance in a direction co-planar with the blade and at an angle tothe direction of the cutting stroke of the blade determined by aresultant of the forces of cutting resistance, and a driver engaging theblade for returning it to its initial position after such movement.

9. In a safety razor, the combination of a blade and a blade coverconstituting a blade carrier, with a cutter reciprocable therein andhaving a cutting edge exposable outside of said carrier for shaving, anda resilient member mounted in said carrier between said blade seat andsaid blade cover and engaging said cutter for permitting the movement ofthe cutting edge in- Wardly of the carrier in response to the force ofcutting resistance and for normally yieldably holding the cutter withits outing edge exposed for shaving.

10. A safety razor comprising a head portion including a blade seat, ablade cover, a blade slidable therebetween in response to the force ofcutting resistance in a direction co-planar with the blade and at anangle to the direction of the shaving stroke determined by a resultantof the forces of cutting resistance, and resilient means operativelyengaging a marginal edge of said blade for yieldably holding it againstthe sliding movement.

11. A safety razor comprising a head portion including a blade seat, ablade cover, a blade slidable therebetween in response to the force ofcutting resistance and in a direction determined by a resultant of theforces of cutting resistance and away from the direction of cuttingmovement of the blade, resilient blade driving means operativelyengaging a marginal edge portion of said blade and mounted in said headportion between said blade seat and cover, said driving means beingenergizable by the sliding of the blade in the first said direction fordriving the blade in the opposite direction by a force exerted in theplane of the blade.

12. A safety razor comprising a blade carrier with a blade seat and ablade cover, a blade therein movable in response to the force of cuttingresistance and in a direction determined by a resultant of the forces ofcutting resistance, a blade driver energizable by the movement in thefirst said direction for driving the blade in the opposite direction,and means in said blade carrier for limiting the movement of the bladein both 3 said directions.

13. A safety razor comprising a blade seat and a blade cover providing ablade carrier, a blade between said seat and said cover and rockable insaid carrier about an axis substantially normal to the face of the bladeby the force of cutting resistance, and resilient means mounted in saidblade carrier between said blade seat and cover and engaging said bladefor yieldably opposing rocking of the blade.

14. A safety razor comprising a blade seat, ,a blade cover, a bladebetween said blade seat and said blade cover and movable away from theline of cutting by the force of cutting resistance and in a directiondetermined by a resultant of the forces of cutting resistance, andresilient means engaging said blade at opposite sides of its transversecenter line for yieldably opposing the movement of the blade away fromthe line of cutting.

15. A safety razor comprising a head portion including a blade seat anda blade cover, a blade slidable between said blade seat and said bladecover in response to the force of cutting resistance and in a directiondetermined by a resultant of the forces of cutting resistance, andresilient means engaging a marginal edge of said blade at spaced pointstherealong for yieldably opposing the sliding movement.

16. A safety razor comprising a head portion including a blade seat anda blade cover, a blade movable between said blade seat and said bladecover in response to the force of cutting resistance and in a directiondetermined by a resultant of the forces of cutting resistance, andresilient means engaging a marginal edge of said blade at opposite sidesof its transverse center line of yieldably opposing the movement of theblade away from the line of cutting. v

17. A safety razor comprising a head portion including a blade seat anda blade cover, a blade movable between said blade seat and said bladecover in response to the force of cutting resistance in a directionco-Dlanar with the blade and at an angle to the direction of the shavingstroke determined by a resultant of the forces of cutting resistance,and resilient means engaging said blade at opposite sides of itstransverse center line for yieldably opposing movement of the blade awayfrom the line of cutting.-

CALLARD LIVINGSTON.

